Today, hotel owner, operator and developer, Hotel Equities (HE), announced the recent opening of its Canadian office located in Edmonton, Alberta. The new location encompasses all disciplines to support their growth in country. Andre Giannandrea has been named as regional director of operations, Tapan Malik as regional director of sales, Bryce Herder as regional revenue manager and Oscar Rodriguez as regional director of accounting.

Twenty percent of the firm’s portfolio of hotels is located in Canada. As a result, Bryan DeCort, EVP for HE, sees opening in Canada as a very natural step: “We are proud of our Canadian portfolio and associates. Putting down permanent roots in the country will help us better serve our stakeholders, and also help us drive further growth." Bryan continues, "Given our current footprint in Canada, Edmonton is the perfect initial base for our team to best provide their operational expertise."

Earlier this month Hotel Equities added a six-pack portfolio of hotels, bringing their total to twenty-three hotels in Canada.“We have grown significantly since entering the Canadian market in early 2018,” said Joe Reardon, chief development officer for Hotel Equities. “In addition to investing in a new office location, we made significant investments into scaling all departments, such as human resources and learning & development. With the infrastructure to support our continued growth, we are also interested in JV acquisition opportunities and investments in-country.”

“We intend to be long-term players in Canada,” said Brad Rahinsky, president and CEO of HE. “Our brand partners pointed out a void of high caliber managerial expertise in Canada and inspired us to bring our services in-market. The opportunity for us to provide value to the hotel sector in Canada is enormous and I’m encouraged by the team of industry veterans leading our Edmonton office. With their expertise and the backing of our Canadian support team in Atlanta, they will make a profound and immediate impact for stakeholders.”

Updated and revitalized from its first iteration in 2012, the Authentic Indigenous designation is granted to key Stakeholders who offer compelling, culturally appropriate Indigenous tourism experiences. The designation helps travellers identify these experiences throughout the province and acknowledges they are contributing to the preservation of local Indigenous cultures and languages.

The program's return follows ITBC's release of its three-year Tourism Performance Audit Report in October 2018, which announced record-breaking growth of BC's Indigenous tourism industry. The report's findings include a notable 33% increase of Indigenous tourism-related businesses operating in 2016/17 over 2014, and an estimated $705 million gross domestic output generated by Indigenous businesses. The report also indicated 36% of travellers surveyed had visited Indigenous sites, attractions or events on previous trips to BC, while 89% of tour operators would consider offering or expanding their Indigenous experiences to meet demand.

In further support of Indigenous tourism growth and marketing, ITBC recently unveiled a new consumer website featuring rich digital storytelling from thriving and inspirational Indigenous cultures in BC. Paired with a new series called "Living Legends", which documents remarkable individuals who dedicate themselves to the resurgence and revitalization of local Indigenous cultures, the website is poised to contribute to another banner year for Indigenous tourism across the province.

To receive the Authentic Indigenous designation, tourism businesses must be Indigenous-owned and operated, offer quality Indigenous cultural content, and practice sustainability that protects both culture and environment. Learn more at www.IndigenousBC.com.

Quotes

Brenda Baptiste, Chair, Indigenous Tourism BC

"ITBC is very excited to reintroduce the Authentic Indigenous program. We are seeing unprecedented growth of Indigenous tourism across the province, as well as continued demand for authentic cultural experiences. The designation is intended not only to inspire consumer confidence in local tourism experiences, but to also provide businesses with an additional marketing tool that we believe will lead to increased awareness and bookings."

Mike Willie, Owner, Sea Wolf Adventures

"This is such an important program for Indigenous tourism businesses, and we are grateful that ITBC has chosen to renew it. When travellers see businesses like ourselves have been awarded the Authentic Indigenous designation, they can rest assured their experience will be authentic, culturally appropriate and transformative."

Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister Responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada

"Our government is working hard to ensure Canadians have the tools they need to become more competitive and succeed in the global economy. This is why we're supporting Indigenous Tourism BC: to build on its success as an Indigenous tourism pioneer by revitalizing initiatives that boost economic growth and create well-paying jobs for Canadians."

"Indigenous tourism plays an important role in demonstrating the richness of Canada's people and cultures," said the Honourable. "By working together with Indigenous Tourism BC to promote authentic Indigenous experiences for visitors, we're able to harness the full potential of our tourism sector and create new economic opportunities for all Canadians."

Atlanta, GA – (May 6, 2019) – Today, Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (HE), announced they have been selected as the strategic partner for Kelowna BC-based Braemar Group, to operate six hotels located in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The hotel portfolio consists of four premier Choice branded hotels and one Best Western Plus currently open and operating, as well as a TownePlace Suites by Marriott hotel expected to open in Q3 2019.

The hotel portfolio has a combined total guestroom count of 596 and growing, with future development projects in the pipeline. To accommodate Braemar Group’s plans for further portfolio expansion, they partnered with best in class owner, operator and developer; Hotel Equities. Hotel Equities recently opened a Canadian office encompassing all disciplines including operations, sales and marketing, revenue management and accounting to support their growth in market.

"We continue to expand our Canadian hotel portfolio with owners with whom we are aligned, who seek a strong managing and development partner,” said Joe Reardon, chief development officer for HE. “We recently celebrated the opening of our Canadian office and, with a regional team in country, we have the ability to immediately grow revenue and optimize our owner’s top-line and profitability. We look forward to adding value for our new partners at Braemar Group and we welcome the new team of associates to the Hotel Equities’ family.”

Since deciding to shift focus to development and portfolio growth, Braemar Group selected Hotel Equities as the management partner for their hotel assets. The new partnership is expected to facilitate Braemar Group’s portfolio expansion.

“Hotel Equities’ presence in market was immediately felt through their ability to capture business,” said Rod Hazard, president of Braemar Group. “Their performance results and the impact their culture brings to the communities they serve are both characteristics we were seeking in a partner. The partnership also affords us the ability to offer our associates added benefits and resources, such as continued education through their learning and development programs. We look forward to working with their team of professionals to take our portfolio to the next level.”

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